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Lili’s gaze darted from me to her mom.

I smiled at her. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I have a special treat for Taco.” I didn’t, but I’d swing by the pet store and get something like a worm or a roach.

“I’m coming,” she whispered. She took the man’s hand, stepped out of the room, and the door closed behind them.

I went behind my desk and sat. “It’s good to see you, Mrs. Steele.”

“It’s Ms. Livingston now. I’ve begun the legal process of returning to my maiden name.” She sat at Lili’s table and folded her hands in her lap. “I need to speak with you, and this conversation isn’t going to be easy.”

I silently counted to four as I inhaled. I had a niggling suspicion she wanted to chat about Brett. But would it be about me and Brett—or Brett and Lili?

“Mrs. Bardot, I’ve tried to keep this situation from Lili, but it’s gotten complicated.” She released an audible exhale. “Lili told me about the letter.”

Oh god, no wonder Lili had been quiet. Her mom was pissed, and I’d instigated the problem with my interference. Exhale. One. Two. Three. Four.

“Mrs. Bardot—”

“You can call me Jaymi.” Because I had a sinking feeling this conversation was going to be personal and uncomfortable—for both of us. I didn’t really want to talk about Brett with his soon-to-be ex-wife. But I had to talk about Lili’s dad.

“I’m sure Lili has talked about her father.”

“She has, and I met him at Donuts with Dad.”

“Oh. I’d forgotten about that. Did you speak with him?”

“Only for a couple of minutes. Lili was excited for him to be there.”

“She has a distorted view of her father. Because of some recent events, I’ve had to take measures to protect her from her father. You couldn’t have known when you asked her to write the letter, that you were exposing her to more hurt.”

“Of course, I would never want to hurt Lili. I love having her in my class. But she has been down the last couple of weeks. She explained she hadn’t seen her dad. I only offered it as an option after she talked about missing him and not being able to talk to him.”

Natalie’s lips tightened. “And you didn’t consider that maybe there would be a reason why she wasn’t seeing him? Why she wasn’t talking to him?” She inhaled through her nose and calmed her voice. “I don’t know how to say this except to be blunt. He’s dangerous. I’m trying to protect Lili from her father. I just don’t know what he’s capable of.”

I rested my hands on my lap to keep from fidgeting. And I had to clench my jaw to keep from speaking.

“Normally, I wouldn’t interfere with your teaching. Lili loves being in your class. But I need you not to be personally involved with my daughter.” She put emphasis on not.

“I’m sorry if my interference worried you. Honestly, the letter was just to help get her feelings out.” I spoke past the irritation crawling up my throat. “Lili’s been especially quiet this week. I was only trying to help. It won’t happen again.”

“Lili is impressionable, and she has warped ideas, especially about her dad. That’s my fault. I’ve always tried to protect her from him. It’s sad that he’s always chosen drugs over her. Over both of us. I never wanted this for her.”

I didn’t know what to say. If I said anything, I’d give myself away. Brett was none of those things. Not that he didn’t wave a few red flags, because he did, but for none of these reasons. He’d told me he’d taken his marriage for granted and that he’d worked hard to be a better father. He wasn’t on drugs, and I drank more whiskey than he did.

“Mrs. Bardot?”

I shut down my thoughts and focused on Natalie.

“I have a restraining order against him. If he shows up here at the school, you need to report it to the office. I spoke with the principal today before coming into your class. Mrs. Caine assures me he won’t be allowed on school property and that the police will be notified.”

Nicole had a high thirst for tea. By tomorrow, the faculty room would be sipping on every detail. All of which I hoped were lies. They are lies.

Natalie stood. “I’m sure Lili’s dad was nice and personable when he came for free donuts. But there’s a reason we’re getting divorced and a reason why I have a restraining order against him. He’s violent, Mrs. Bardot.”

That was a lie, and it’s Miss Jaymi, I corrected in my thoughts.

“He has a substance abuse problem—”

Another lie.